Chip Ganassi Makes More History With Victory in Rolex 24 at Daytona

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Sure, Chip Ganassi's driver lineup looked unbeatable: three Indy 500 champions, a Daytona 500 winner and the reigning sports car season champs. But in the always grueling, unpredictable and increasingly wild and woolly Rolex 24 at Daytona, it takes more than talent. It takes luck, preparation and in Sunday's case, great tenacity to win.

Reigning Grand-Am Series champ Scott Pruett took the lead from his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, 2008 Indy 500 champ Scott Dixon, with 45 minutes left in the twice-around-the-clock race on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course, then held him off on a re-start with one lap to go to give Ganassi his fourth Rolex 24 win in the last six years.

Ganassi is the first owner in racing history to simultaneously own the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 and Rolex 24 trophies -- something people are already affectionately calling the "Chip Slam.''

"I don't drive the cars, I don't change the tires and I don't work on the engines,'' Ganassi said, modestly acknowledging the accomplishment. "I'm just the guy that gets to stand up here and talk about it. It's a lot of other guys that do the hard work.

"A win here does not reward you at the next race. We had a great day today and tomorrow we're on to the next race.''

The first four finishers were separated by less than four seconds after 24 hours of what was one of the most competitive races in the event's 49-year history. It was the fourth overall and ninth class win for Pruett, who co-drove with Memo Rojas, second-generation IndyCar driver Graham Rahal and sports car veteran Joey Hand.

"We were very optimistic, but did we know we'd win? No,'' Pruett said about his last stint in the car after chasing his teammates for much of the race. "But Joey (Hand) did a great job making up time. We knew we had a strong car and were just looking at our options.''

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2011/01/30/chip-ganassi-makes-more-history-with-rolex-24-at-daytona-victory/

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Ferrari unconcerned by ?radical? rivals

Ferrari insists it is not worried about the extreme car designs that rivals teams have unveiled in Valencia this week. The Maranello outfit appears to have adopted a more conservative approach with its new F150 compared to some other teams - with Renault and Red Bull Racing utilising more radical exhaust layouts and Toro Rosso using a twin-floor concept

Source: http://www.inracingnews.com/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/ferrari-unconcerned-by-radical-rivals/

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Glock happy to be back in action

Timo Glock was happy to be back in action following his first day of work at the wheel of the Virgin Racing car at Valencia. The German had not driven the car since the end of the 2010 season, but was back today after taking over from team-mate Jerome D'Ambrosio

Source: http://www.inracingnews.com/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/glock-happy-to-be-back-in-action/

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Kubica upbeat despite tricky first day

Robert Kubica says he has every reason to feel upbeat about the potential of his new Renault, despite a day of mixed fortunes at Valencia on Wednesday. Although Kubica ended the day fifth overall on the timesheets, he was left slightly frustrated with the handling of the car and a few niggling problems that prevented him getting more mileage. Despite those factors, Kubica said he was keeping a positive frame of mind about his first experience of the R31, as he prepared for a second day of running on Thursday.

Source: http://www.inracingnews.com/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/kubica-upbeat-despite-tricky-first-day/

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Da Matta, Junqueira join RSR Jaguar

Cristiano da Matta, Bruno Junqueira and PJ Jones will race for the RSR Jaguar GT squad in the American Le Mans Series this year. The deal marks da Matta's return to full-time racing, five years after the ex-Formula 1 driver and 2002 Champ Car champion suffered severe head injuries when he hit a deer while testing at Elkhart Lake

Source: http://www.inracingnews.com/other-news/sports-cars/alms/da-matta-junqueira-join-rsr-jaguar/

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Volkswagen Unveils Special Race, 24-Carat Gold Touaregs in Qatar

To balance the do-gooder image of the planet-saving diesel plug-in hybrid it unvelied at the Qatar auto show this week, Volkswagen has two more concepts that have no problem making statements of their own. The Germans unveiled two ?no compromises? versions of the Touareg SUV, which apparently were designed to tackle Mount Subtlety. The Race 3 Touareg [...] Related posts:
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/iammr9F1YIo/

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Richard Childress Reflects on Dale Earnhardt, Predicts an RCR Title

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WELCOME, N.C. -- Richard Childress knew the questions were coming. But that didn't make it any easier.

On Feb. 18, it will have been 10 years since his best friend, seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, was killed in the last corner of the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Earnhardt drove Childress' black No. 3 Chevy to six of his titles and most of his glory. But more than that, the two were like brothers -- best friends, hunting buddies, business partners.

So even before the NASCAR media descended upon the Richard Childress Racing headquarters about an hour north of Charlotte on this rainy, cold Tuesday afternoon, Childress had prepared himself for the inevitable questions as the sport solemnly marks 10 years since it lost its greatest star and Childress lost his greatest friend.

"I'm not dreading it, so to speak, but I know there's going to be a lot of questions that I know deserve answers and some of the answers I'm the only person that can give,'' Childress said during a nearly hour-long interview on NASCAR's annual preseason media tour.

"It (the accident) almost seems like yesterday because you're always still remembering and thinking of what's happened since that time. Ten years, it just doesn't seem like it.''

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2011/01/25/richard-childress-reflects-on-dale-earnhardt-and-predicts-an-rcr/

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